Providing a medical support device via an unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a medical situation in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) housing a medical-support device, (b) determining a target location associated with at least one individual in need of medical assistance, (c) navigating the UAV from a remote location to the target location, (d) the computing system making a determination that the UAV is located at the target location, and (e) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the target location, delivering by a delivery mechanism the medical-support device for providing medical assistance for the at least one individual in need of medical assistance.

We claim: 
     
       1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
 a housing that is configured to hold a medical-support device; 
 a delivery mechanism, wherein the delivery mechanism comprises a winch system that is configured to deliver the medical-support device to a target location associated with an individual in need of medical assistance; and 
 a control system, wherein said control system is configured to:
 receive a request for assistance at an individual medical situation, wherein the request comprises location data corresponding to the target location; 
 determine the target location based on the location data; 
 navigate the UAV from a remote location to the target location, wherein the UAV navigates to the target location in a forward-flight mode; 
 make a determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location; 
 in response to the determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location, transition the UAV into a hover flight mode; and 
 cause the winch system to deliver the medical-support device to the target location by lowering the medical-support device towards a ground, such that the medical-support device is provided for medical assistance to the individual in need of medical assistance. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the medical-support device is configured to provide instructions for medical treatment. 
     
     
       3. The UAV of  claim 2 , wherein the instructions for medical treatment are pre-loaded. 
     
     
       4. The UAV of  claim 2 , wherein the instructions for medical treatment are in the form of audio or visual instructions. 
     
     
       5. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the medical-support device comprises a head-mountable device (HMD). 
     
     
       6. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the medical-support device is at least one of a medicine, a diagnostic device, a treatment device, a remote support device, a pulse oximeter, a blood pressure sensor, an EKG sensor, an epinephrine injection, or a first aid kit. 
     
     
       7. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the medical-support device is a defibrillator. 
     
     
       8. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the medical-support device is at least one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a laptop computer. 
     
     
       9. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the winch system comprises a compartment from which the medical-support device is manually removable. 
     
     
       10. The UAV of  claim 9 , wherein the compartment comprises a sliding system to slide the medical-support device out of the compartment. 
     
     
       11. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the location data is comprised of Global Position System (GPS) coordinates. 
     
     
       12. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the request for assistance at the individual medical situation is received from a mobile device. 
     
     
       13. A method comprising:
 housing, by a housing system of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a medical-support device; 
 receiving, by a computing system of the UAV, a request for assistance at an individual medical situation, wherein the request comprises location data corresponding to a target location; 
 determining, by the computing system of the UAV, the target location, wherein the target location is associated with an individual in need of medical assistance; 
 navigating, by the computing system of the UAV, the UAV from a remote location to the target location, wherein the UAV navigates to the target location in a forward-flight mode; 
 making, by the computing system of the UAV, a determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location; 
 in response to the determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location, transitioning the UAV into a hover flight mode; and 
 delivering, by a delivery mechanism, the medical-support device to the target location by lowering the medical-support device towards to a ground, such that the medical-support device is provided for medical assistance to the individual in need of medical assistance, wherein the delivery mechanism comprises a winch system. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the medical-support device comprises a head-mountable device (HMD). 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the winch system comprises a compartment wherein the medical-support device may be manually removed from the housing. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the compartment comprises a sliding system to slide the medical-support device out of the housing. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the medical-support device is configured to provide instructions for medical treatment. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the instructions for medical treatment are pre-loaded. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the instructions for medical treatment are in the form of audio or visual instructions. 
     
     
       20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions that are executable to cause a computing device to perform functions comprising:
 receiving a request for assistance at an individual medical situation, wherein the request comprises location data corresponding to a target location; 
 determining the target location, wherein the target location is associated with an individual in need of medical assistance; 
 using a navigation system to navigate an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a remote location to the target location, wherein the UAV navigates to the target location in a forward-flight mode; 
 making a determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location; 
 in response to the determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location, transitioning the UAV into a hover flight mode; and 
 using a delivery mechanism to deliver the medical-support device to the target location by lowering the medical-support device towards a ground, such that the medical support device is provided for medical assistance to the individual in need of medical assistance, wherein the delivery mechanism comprises a winch system. 
 
     
     
       21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the medical-support device is a defibrillator. 
     
     
       22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the medical-support device comprises a head-mountable device (HMD). 
     
     
       23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the medical-support device is configured to provide instructions for medical treatment. 
     
     
       24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 23 , wherein the instructions for medical treatment are pre-loaded. 
     
     
       25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 23 , wherein the instructions for medical treatment are in the form of audio or visual instructions.